Vending-machine.



PATENTED MAY 2, 1905.

W. DIEBEL.

VENDING MAUI-IINE.

APPLICATION II-LED NOV. 6,1903.

4 SHEETS-SHEET 1.

No. 789,086. PATENTED MAY 2, 1905.

W. DIEBEL. VENDING MACHINE.

APPLICATION TILED NOV.6, 1903.

4 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

lfiwigfar Zzmsaw: imam zwaez No. 789,086. PATENTED MAY 2, 1905.

w. DIEBBL. VENDING MACHINE.

APPLICATION FILED NOV.6, 1903.

4 SHEETS-SHEBT s.

' PATENTED MAY 2, 1905.

W. DIEBEL. VENDING MACHINE.

APPLICATION FILED NOV.6,1903.

4 SHEETS-FREE! 4.

lUi'rnn STATES Patented May 2, 1905.

WILLIAM DIEBEL, OF PHILADELPHIA, PENNSYLVANIA.

VENDING-MACHINE.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 789,086, dated May 2,1905.

Original application filed June 9,1902, Serial No. 122,319. Divided andthis application filed November 6,1903. Serial No. 180,082-

To all whom, it may concern.-

Beitknown that I, WVILLIAMDIEBEL, a citi- Zen of the United States,residing at Philadelphia, county of Philadelphia, and State ofPennsylvania, have invented acertain new and useful Improvement inVending-Machines, of which the following is a specification.

My invention relates to a new and useful improvementin vending-machines,and has for its object to provide a machine of this description adaptedespecially for the sale of cigars, it being obvious, however, that itmay be used for the sale of other articles with but slight alterationswithout changing the principle of the invention, as is well known bypersons versed in the art. Machines of this class are operated by meansof the insertion of a coin which releases certain locking mechanism, soas to permit the moving of the slide, which movement will bring onearticle within reach of the purchaser, the movement of the slide beingaccomplished either by a motor within the machine or by hand.

This application is a division of an application filed by me forvending-machines June 9, 1902, Serial No. 122,319. I

In the drawings of this application a motor is shown for operating theslide. Some machines of this character are provided with a hopper whichguides the cigars or other articles to the feed-slide in such a mannerthat a single cigar will be discharged when a lever or rod ismanipulated. This construction is objectionable on account oftheinternal-revenue law which stipulates that tobacco in any form canonly be sold from the original stamped box or package. There are alsomachines of this character patented wherein the cigars are fed from abox, one end of which has been previously removed; but this character ofmachine has also been found objectionable because no means are employedwhereby the cigars within the box are loosened from their originalcompact state, so that they may be fed properly to the delivery-slide.In a few machines apparatus is employed for loosening the cigars withinthe box; but in all such machines employing such apparatus the mechanismis more or less complicated.

The principal feature of this invention consists in the delivery-slide,which not only delivers the cigar, but also a match, and another featureis in the manner of inserting the box in the machine and the peculiarformation of the chute which carries the cigar to the exterior of themachine.

With these ends in view this invention consists in the details ofconstruction and combination of elements hereinafter set forth and thenspecifically designated by the claim.

In order that those skilled in the art to which thisinvention appertainsmay understand how to make and use the same, the construction andoperation will now be described in detail, referring to the accompanyingdrawings, forminga part of this specification, in which- Figure 1 is avertical section of the machine, showing the parts in their normalposition. Fig. 1* is a perspective view of the platform anddelivery-slide; Fig. 2, a similar view to Fig. 1, showing thedelivery-slide actuated; Fig. 3, a section through the upper portion ofthe machine above the delivery-slide; Fig. 4, a cross-section throughthe machine below the delivery-slide; Fig. 5, a vertical section throughthe upper portion of the machine, showing the match-delivery mechanismin its operative position; Fig. 6, a similar view to Fig. 5, showing thematch-delivery mechanism in its normal position.

A represents the casing of the machine, the back A of which is hinged,so as to open to gain access to the operating parts of the mechanism toremove the money from the machine, and the top A is removable for thepurpose of inserting a box of cigars.

B represents the cigar-box and is the original package. This box has aportion of one side removed, as represented at B, and this removableportion may be either broken from an ordinary cigar-box or the cigar-boxmay be made with this portion either hinged or easily removable, and thebox B is inserted from above into the machine and rests upon ledges justabove the delivery-slide C. The lid B of the box extends upward inbetween the front of the casing A and the front edge of the top A sothat the label upon the inside of the cover B is in view. A pane ofglass B is inserted between the front of the casing A and the cigars inthe box B, and as there is an opening A formed through the front of thecasing A the cigars are thus always in view, and openings may be formedthrough the top, back, and sides of the casing with glass inserted insaid openings,-so that the stamp and other markings on the box arevisible. The box can thus be inspected without removing the same fromthe machine.

The box B is set in a machine on a slight incline, so that the cigars inthe box will tend to roll toward the rear of the same, where the openingB is located. The delivery-slide C is adapted to slide parallel with thelower end of the box, and in this delivery-slide is formed an opening C,which normally lies below the opening B, formed through the box. Thisdelivery-slide is adapted to be normally locked in the position shown inFig. 1 and to be unlocked by the insertion of the proper coin, and thisdelivery slide may extend through the front of the casing, so that theslide may be actuated by h and after the proper coin has been inserted,or the delivery-slide may be connected with a motor, as shown in thedrawings at X, this motor being started simultaneously with theunlocking of the delivery-slide, thus operating the slide automatically.As this application only deals with the delivery mechanism, I will notdescribe the motor or the coin-actuating mechanism in detail, as thatforms no part of this invention.

The delivery-slide O rests upon a platform D, and when the slide is inits normal position this platform closes the lower end of the opening 0,and thus a pocket is formed, in which one cigar or other article to bevended may be held. When the delivery-slide is pressed rearward to itsfullest extent, either by hand or by a' motor, the opening 0 will passto the rear of the platform D, and thus the cigar, which has beencarried forward within the opening C, will be allowed to fall throughand be delivered to the purchaser. The cigars after dropping from thedelivery-slide may be delivered to the customer in any desirable manner;but that which I prefer to use is a merchandise-chute N, the rearwardend of which extends nearly the full width of the machine; but theforward ends taper toward the center, as shown at N.

O is a pin or stud secured to one side of the merchandise-chute, and thecigar in falling from the delivery-slide falls behind the pin or stud O,and thus will retard one end of the cigar, so that the cigar will turnand pass downward through the chute N endwise and coming in contact withinclined sides will travel toward the center and out of the machinethrough an opening upon the inclined receiver P. v

It is a well-known fact that cigars are very compactly pressed in thebox, and on account of being thus pressed it has always been verydifficult to properly vend cigars from the box by an automatic machine.Numerous devices have been utilized in various machines for the purposeof loosening these cigars in the box. In.my invention I employ the cigarto be vended for the purpose of aiding in the loosening of the cigars.The delivery-slide G is slightly thinner than the diameter of the cigarto be vended, and thus the cigar when in the opening C will projectabove the upper surface of the delivery-slide, and as the opening C whenin its normal position lies forward of the rear of the cigar-box whenthe delivery-slide is pressed rearward the cigar to be delivered willpass underneath the cigars above, and the rotundity of the cigar to bedelivered will cause a movement of the other cigars at this point, whichwill keep the same loosened, so that when the delivery-slide returns toits normal position a cigar will be free to drop within the pocketformed by the opening U.

If desired. the opening B through the cigar-box may be made considerablywider than the pocket C, and the slide C underneath the opening B may becorrugated, as represented at C and these corrugations will also aid inloosening the cigars.

As it is necessary to make the pocket C in the slide C wide enough toaccommodate all size cigars and also to allow the cigars to drop intothe pocket, I have found by experience that when small cigars are usedthe one in the pocket will roll toward the rear wall and allow anothercigar to drop part way in the pocket between the cigar to be vended andthe front wall of the pocket, and when the delivery-slide passesrearward this upper cigar is apt to become pinched or torn against therearward ledge under which the'vended cigar passes. To overcome thisdisadvantage, I have provided two springs S, which are attached to theplatform D and are inclined upward and rearward from said platform.These springs are at the rear of the pocket when the delivery-slide isin its clamped position, so as to leave the pocket free for a cigar todrop into the same; but as the delivery-slide passes rearward thesesprings will force the cigar to be vended against the front wall of thepocket, and therefore crowd out any cigar above the same before therearward ledge is reached, and as the vended cigar passes underneath theledge the springs will be depressed, so that the cigar to be vended maypass over the springs, and thereby from the pocket after the platform Dhas been passed. The delivery-slide C is provided with cutaway portions0 in alinement withthe springs, so as to allow the slide to pass overthe springs without depressing the same.

This invention not only deals with the delivering of cigars, but alsowith. the delivery of one match with each cigar, and I accomplish thisin the following manner: Upon vsexse one side of the machine between thecigarbox and the sides I provide a chute Q,in which matches Q may beplaced, as shown in Figs. 5 and 6. A weight Q may restupon the topmostmatch, so as to aid the matches in traveling downward. R is a fingersecured to the delivery-slide C, and this finger when in its normalposition lies underneath the tier of matches, so that the matches restupon the same; but when the delivery-slide is pressed rearward todeliver a cigar the finger R is removed from underneath the matches andthe lowermost match passed downward in the place previously occupied bythe finger, and when the finger R travels forward again to its normalposition it will press this lowermost match outward through anopeningformed through the front of the box in the position to be removedby the customer, as shown in Fig. 5.

Of course I do not wish to be limited to the exact construction hereshown, as slight modifications could be made without departing from thespirit of my invention.

Having thus fully described my invention, what I claim as new and usefulis In combination in a vending-machine,a casing, a merchandise-holderarranged upon an incline in the upper end of said casing, said casingprovided with an opening formed through the front, a pane of glassarranged to cover this opening through which the articles in themerchandise-holder may be viewed, said merchandise-holder provided withan opening through the lower rearward end thereof, a delivery-slidearranged to slide parallel with and directly underneath the lower end ofthe merchandise-holder, said deliveryslide adapted to be pushed rearwardand returned to its normal position upon each operation, saiddelivery-slide provided with an opening formed therethrough and adaptedto normally register with the opening through the merchandise-holder, aplatform arranged beneath the delivery-slide and normally closing thelower end of the opening through said delivery-slide, saiddelivery-slide being thinner than the diameter of the article to bevended so that that portion of the article being vended which is heldwithin the opening of the delivery-slide and projects above the samewill disturb other articles above the delivery-slide as said slide ispressed rearward, springs secured to the rear of the platform andextending upward and rearward on an incline, the front end of thesprings being secured to the platform, and the rear ends being free, thedelivery-slide being provided with cut-away portions upon the under sidein alinement with the springs, and a merchandise-chute arranged belowthe delivery-slide, said merchandise-chute arranged upon an incline, therear end thereof being in width eq ual or greater than the length of acigar, the sides then tapering toward the center, the casing of themachine provided with an opening with which the smaller end of the chuteconnects, an inclined receiver arranged upon the outside of the machineand connected with said

